Opponents' Inexperience Causes A Dudley Do Wrong

ALEX MARVEZ INSIDE THE RING

September 12, 2003|ALEX MARVEZ INSIDE THE RING

Spike Dudley is lucky he didn't become the next World Wrestling Entertainment performer to suffer serious injury on a Monday Night Raw telecast.

During this week's show, Le Resistance (Rene DuprM-i and Sylvain Grenier) attempted to toss Dudley from the ring through a table on the arena floor in Huntsville, Ala. Dudley didn't travel far enough, causing his head to brutally crack against the edge of the table before he landed with a thud.

Fortunately, the incident looked worse than the damage it caused. Unlike Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Kevin Nash, both of whom tore quadriceps on live Raw shows, Dudley (real name Matt Hyson) isn't expected to miss much action.

Still, the incident won't help the already icy real-life relationship between the Dudleys and Le Resistance. Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark Lomonica) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes) haven't enjoyed feuding with the two inexperienced performers, as Grenier is so green that the WWE promoted Rob Conway from Ohio Valley Wrestling to help make amends for his in-ring deficiencies as a third member of Le Resistance.

In other WWE news:

WWE owner Vince McMahon is taking full advantage of the promotion's disclaimer that announced lineups for live shows are subject to change. McMahon has missed a slew of non-televised Smackdown shows for which he was scheduled to appear or referee the main event.

Not that McMahon's name has meant anything at the box office. A show last Sunday night at the Office Depot Center drew a paltry paid attendance of 2,624 fans, according to an industry source. The main event also was changed from Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle vs. Big Show to Angle and The Undertaker defeating Lesnar and Show.

It was no secret that Nash would lose a hair vs. hair match to Chris Jericho last month on Raw. Nash needed to trim his mane for a part in an upcoming movie based on the comic book character The Punisher. Nash only received a short haircut and wasn't shaved bald like WWE announcers had promised entering the match, but unfulfilled stipulations have become par for the course in this promotion.

Hoping to spark his WWE career, Chris Canyon has wrestled several matches with the old Mortis gimmick with which he first made a name for himself in World Championship Wrestling.

Piper to return

On Wednesday night's National Wrestling Alliance/Total Nonstop Action pay-per-view show, Roddy Piper is set to make his first wrestling appearance since being dismissed by WWE following his controversial appearance on HBO's Real Sports. Piper was canned after talking to HBO about extensive drug use both personally and throughout the industry, which has helped contribute to a high mortality rate among wrestlers. ...

Kudos to NWA/TNA for presenting one of the best pay-per-view shows of the year on last Wednesday night's telecast. The highlight was an eight-man X division (i.e. light-heavyweight) tournament headlined by Chris Sabin defeating Juventud Guerrera. The tournament also featured standout performances by Teddy Hart (the nephew of Bret "The Hitman" Hart), Michael Shane (Shawn Michaels' nephew) and Frankie Kazarian.

Upcoming shows

Major League Wrestling will hold a War Games match to headline its 7:30 p.m. show next Friday at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial Auditorium, 800 NE Eighth St. The main event pits The Extreme Horsemen (Steve Corino, C.W. Anderson, Simon Diamond and a mystery opponent) vs. The Funkin' Army (Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler, The Sandman and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams) inside two connected steel cages. Because he only has an announcing contract with WWE, Lawler is allowed to wrestle for independent promotions.

Williams will conduct a wrestling clinic from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Four Star Championship Wrestling training facility, 3725 Pembroke Road, Bay A-16 in Hollywood. Cost is $50, which includes a DVD copy of the seminar upon its release. Call 954-288-2098 or visit fscw.net.

Nick Agallar defeated Edson Diniz in an outstanding main event on last Friday's Absolute Fighting Championships mixed martial arts show at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial. Agallar captured a unanimous three-round decision to become AFC's new 155-pound champion before a paid attendance of 1,052 fans, which was the promotion's best showing since last December.

The AFC's next scheduled card at the War Memorial is scheduled for Dec. 5. Call the arena box office at 954-828- 5380.